Sunday, November 6, 2011

Paul Laurence Dunbar

Paul Laurence Dunbar was born in Dayton Ohio to Matilda and Joshua Dunbar. Both of his parents were slaves. His father luckily escaped and ended up serving in the Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. Dunbar was never a slave himself. He did hear many stories from his parents and other former slaves. He himself experienced racism all through out his life. Many of his works is the voices of the form slaves he knew. He was one of the first African American writers to achieve widespread popularity.

“Dunbar began showing literary promise while still in high school in Dayton, Ohio, where he lived with his widowed mother. The only black in his class, he became class president and class poet. By 1889, two years before he graduated, he had already published poems in the Dayton Herald and worked as editor of the short-lived Dayton Tattler, a newspaper for blacks published by classmate Orville Wright, who later gained fame with brother Wilbur Wright as inventors of the airplane” (poetry foundation).

After graduating from high school do to his race he worked as an elevator operator in a Dayton hotel. He wrote during his breaks. In 1893 Dunbar published his first volume of poetry, Oak and Ivy. That year he attended the World’s Columbian Exposition where he was able to sell copies of his books.

Dunbar was approached by a lawyer after Oak and Ivy was published and was offered a college education. Dunbar turned it down in pursue career as a writer. He worked with Thatcher to publish his second volume.

“Dunbar gained increasing fame throughout the country. Instrumental to Dunbar's growing popularity was a highly positive, though extremely patronizing, and review by eminent novelist William Dean Howells. Writing in Harper's Weekly, Howells praised Dunbar as "the first man of his color to study his race objectively" and commended the dialect poems as faithful representations of the black race” (poetry foundation).

Dunbar’s first novel was highly criticized. The Uncalled, it referenced The Scarlet Letter. His two main characters were a minister and a woman named Hester Prime.

Dunbar accomplished many things in his life but he especially left a legacy. He was able to give a voice to African American slaves. His poetry is the most popular of his works he was about to write many different poems with different themes and tones. “Sympathy” one of his well known poems is captures the struggle that Dunbar lived through and knew. He wrote during a time where racism was the norm and African Americans were seen as less humane. It was not common for African American to received recognition for any types of arts, Dunbar received fame and respect. Though, the dialect in his poems was not sophisticated. He would write the way African Americans spoke at the time. He would write “dat” instead of “that” or “de” instead of “would be.” His audience found it fun and entertaining. He was able to gain a wide audience by making the language familiar.

He would also write poems such as “A Negro Love Song” which resembled a rhyme or a song people would sing.

Seen my lady home las' night,

Jump back, honey, jump back.

Hel' huh han' an' sque'z it tight,

Jump back, honey, jump back.

Hyeahd huh sigh a little sigh,

Seen a light gleam f'om huh eye,

An' a smile go flittin' by —

Jump back, honey, jump back.

This poem is very light hearted compared to some of his works. It is able to capture the culture and enjoyment slaves had in their lives.

Dunbar is viewed as one of the first great Black poets in America. He obtained great accomplishments and was able to push boundaries.

http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/a_f/dunbar/life.htm

http://www.orrt.org/dunbar/

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173462

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/paul-laurence-dunbar

http://www.potw.org/archive/potw219.html

Career

Poet, novelist, and short story writer. Worked as elevator operator; Dayton Tattler, Dayton, OH, founder and editor, 1889-1890; Indianapolis World, Indianapolis, IN, temporary editor, 1895; court messenger, 1896; Library of Congress, Washington DC, assistant clerk, 1897-98. Served as guest editor, Chicago Tribune, 1903. (Poetry foundation).

3 comments:

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  2. This was an intriguing post because I also wrote about Dunbar, and you found some information that I didn't find such as his one piece of literature being compared to The Scarlet Letter. That was a really interesting comparison and I might even look into it more to see how else the pieces are alike. Overall I really enjoyed reading your piece!

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  3. The fact that his story "The Uncalled" references "The Scarlett Letter" is a great fact to have discovered. It would be interesting to see exactly what the critics had to say about that piece.

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